Bath Time
by unavoidable-k
Summary: Six is forced to take a bath and Eight is the one who has to get the reluctant stitchpunk in the tub. If only he could make it fun for the Artist. Attempted fluffy oneshot. 6x8. Request.
Six...needed a bath.

It didn't happen often. Since he was always covered in small splotches of ink, the others decided to give up on bathing him every time he got dirty. Instead, they chucked him in the tub when he got...disgusting.

Six had a bad feeling that morning that something good wasn't going to happen. He figured he should stay in his room and draw; it was the only way to stay out of fates way. Sometime in the late morning, however, Eight barged in and demanded he come out with him. Didn't matter where, Six just had to get out of the Sanctuary for once.

Six couldn't say no to him, so he let Eight lead him down from his little cubby in the corner of the Library, and in the direction of the double doors. Unfortunately, Six had a tendency to be right when it came to his premonitions.

They just so happened to be passing One that morning, who wasn't in a particularly good mood, and Six made the mistake of brushing past him slightly. Now, normally that wouldn't bother anybody but...

"Six."

"Hm?" The younger stitchpunk tilted his head to face one, a little fearful of such a stern voice. He looked at him with confusion, seeing as One had his arm raised slightly, in his direction. Six looked at it, to see a faint black smudge.

Whoops.

"Do you realise how dirty you've gotten? You merely brushed past me and you've already covered me in ink." He said, rubbing at the spot. Six felt he was exaggerating a bit but he couldn't deny it had been a rather long time since he had a bath. This must've been the bad feeling he had that morning.

He HATED baths.

"There's nothing else to it. You need a bath. Go, now." If One wasn't already grumpy, he sure was now. Six still couldn't stand up to One when he made a demand but he was stubborn when it came to baths. He shook his head, although he looked really unsure.

One sighed exasperatedly. "Eight. Deal with him. I'm going to go and get this...stuff off of my arm." He said, before stalking away. Six looked up at Eight with pleading eyes and Eight didn't know what to do. He couldn't just disobey One, but he couldn't do that to poor Six, even if he did need a bath. He guessed the only way to solve this was to compromise.

"Well...would you rather I gave you a bath, or someone else did?" He asked. Six looked crestfallen. How could Eight consider doing this to him?

"Well...you." He muttered, finally. Eight nodded.

"What if I made it fun for you?" He asked, though he wasn't sure where he was going with it. Six looked at him suspiciously. Eight was plotting to give him a bath, which meant he was the enemy. He had use his visionary skills to predict his next moves. It was a life or death situation here!

"How?"

"I'll find a way." He said with a smug smile, though it was just a cover to buy him time to think. How was he supposed to make it fun? And Six was looking at him like he was a monster. He felt rather guilty. He guessed he'd have to worm his way out of this one for now.

He bent down, ruffling Six's yarn in an affectionate manner. "C'mon, Six. I promise, it'll be fine. If you want, I'll even get in with you." He offered. He didn't mind baths; in fact he rather enjoyed them. His joints got incredibly stiff from time to time and it was nice to unwind and relax. Six still looked skeptical but Eight could tell he was pleased with the sudden affection.

"Tell you what, you grab the tub and fill it up. Make it as warm as you like it, yeah? I'll be back soon." He said, giving him a kiss on the forehead. Six would've objected but he was taken off-guard by the kiss, so he nodded, before wandering off in a daze. Eight smiled. He was just so damn cute.

He figured in the short time he had, he should ask the people who gave him baths in the past. That job usually belonged to Five and Two, since Seven and One got too impatient with Six and the twins just refused. Luckily, both were found in the workshop.

"Hey, I need your help." He said, quite out of breath. He had practically dashed over and he hadn't much time. The pair held indentically confused faces. This might've been the first time they'd ever seen Eight in the workshop, but they were willing to help nonetheless.

"Whatever for?"

"How do I make baths fun for Six?"

"Oh dear."

Their expressions changed simultaenously to something like...pity. Eight almost wanted to laugh, but this was a very grave situation indeed. "You want something to make Six like baths?" Eight nodded. Five shrugged. "I haven't a clue. I'm sorry." Eight sighed, turning to Two. "What about you?"

"Well, they say that anything is possible. That we live in a world of countless possibilities and they say that we can do anything if we really try, with only several exceptions..."

"And this is one of them?"

"Yes."

"Right."

* * *

Six realised, staring at his reflection in the water, that he had been tricked. Eight had used affection to manipulate him into running a bath, but there was no way he was getting in. He'd merely give Eight the upper hand, make him feel like he was in control, before turning the situation around. He was NOT having a bath. That was final.

After running around aimlessly for five minutes, Eight had a brainwave. Six was the arty type and it was only recently that he began working with colour. They'd previously visited an Art Shop and taken home coloured inks, chalks and crayons. Eight burst into Six's room, rummaging around for the colours. 'I can't use the ink, cause that will just stain...crayons won't work. Chalk?' He picked up a piece of light green chalk, letting it crumble in his hands experimentally. He smiled. This could work.

Six was growing impatient. Was Eight really trying to find a way to make it fun? He felt a little bad. Eight was putting so much effort into this, only for Six to inevitably escape the watery doom. Maybe he could humor him for a bit. See what he was planning. There was no way he'd actually make it fun though.

If he didn't return soon then Six would assume he wasn't coming back so he could just waltz out and do whatever else he had planned for that day. He almost hoped he wasn't coming back.

His forehead still tingle from the kiss though. He rubbed the spot furiously, only to spread ink across his face. It was nice.

Suddenly, the makeshift door was practically ripped from its makeshift hinges. Eight was carrying something in a scrap of fabric, making a good job of hiding it. What was he planning? Six was growing suspicious again.

"Six, could you step out for a sec? I gotta set this up, yeah?" He said, gently nudging him in the direction of the door. Six slowly edged towards the door, keeping his eye on Eight the whole time until he left. Eight snickered. He was being paranoid as usual. He could tell that through Six's eyes, things were 100x more dramatic. He turned back to the tub and began his work.

"Six."

Six was snapped out of whatever daydream he was in and stalked towards the door, peering in. He was met with Eight's chest. He looked up, seeing Eight's smug grin. He'd planned something good hadn't he? But he was blocking the way? Was this meant to be a surprise? He watched Eight, as he brandished the fabric he had used to hide...whatever he was hiding earlier.

"Can I tie this around your optics? I want this to be a surprise." He said, with a hint of desperation. He really wanted this to work out right. Six watched him, looking him up and done before accepting. "Fine." He said, looking and sounding similar to One.

Eight carefully tied the fabric around his optics and led him towards the metal tub. Small wisps of steam were rising from the hot water and Eight looked at the finished result with pride. "Do you want me to get in with you?" He asked, softly. Six was taken aback by the gentle tone and nodded, nervously.

So Eight lifted him up in a bridal position, before stepping into the tub. Luckily, Six had dragged out the biggest tub they had so it would easily fit them both. He felt the intense warmth pierce through his fabric and heat his joints. It was such a relaxing feeling. How did Six hate it?

He carefully sat down, lowering Six into the water. He immediately shivered upon contact and clung to Eight, shifting uncomfortably and whining. Eight ignored him until he had settled them both down in the tub. Six fidgeted around until he was laying on his lap, his head resting on his large chest.

"You ready?" He asked, grinning. Six nodded, smiling shyly. "Yeah..."

He pulled the fabric from his optics and Six gasped. What used to be dirty coloured bath water was now swirls of colour; red, blue, green, purple. Any colour imaginable. The colours had mixed together nicely, so they complimented and not so they mixed into a brown colour. He watched the ripples in the pastel coloured water and smiled.

"Eight...this is amazing!" He said, eyes practically sparkling. He looked absolutely adorable and Eight couldn't resist. He leant down, nuzzling into Six, who responded the affection with a giggle. "You did this for me! It's so pretty!" He said. He sounded positively delighted.

He lurched up and planted a kiss on the guards lips, smiling happily. He wrapped his now clean arms around his neck and rested his head on his shoulder, letting Eight run water down his back. The water made him shiver but Eights touch made him feeling comfortable. He almost felt like he was drifting off.

"So did I change your mind about baths?" Eight asked, breaking the comfortable silence. "Yes..." Six whispered. Eight felt a wave of satisfaction cross him."You like the colour huh? I knew that would work." He said, proudly.

"Not the colour." Six mumbled, sleepily.

"Huh?"

"I don't like baths because of the colour. I like them because you're with me."

"Six..."

"Yeah?"

"...I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

This is a request for the lovely **Mable,** who has kindly written my own requests as well. Thank you! :D

I know it's short but I hope you enjoy it c:


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